There were eight major sects of righteous cultivation, and one of them was the Windward Sect. It was located at the Green Jade Peaks, of which there were eight, and as a result, there were also eight Peak Lords – or rather, there were seven, plus the leader of the sect.
The Sect Leader resided upon what was known as the Central Peak, holding among other things the Great Pagoda and the Great Plaza below it, as well as the Sect Leader’s residence and a number of buildings containing the offices of him and the other Peak Lords – those that bothered to utilise them, at least. Another thing that marked the Central Peak was the numerous stairs – a central one, leading up towards the top, as well as many others, sprawling off in direction of the hanging bridges connecting to the other Peaks.
As things were, climbing these stairs was among the tests undertaken by prospective disciples, and even now, Jiao Ziyu could recall just how exhausted he had been at the end of it all, when the customary martial arts tournament had ensued.
Given his state of exhaustion, Jiao Ziyu had not performed very well. Thus, one might have considered it a miracle that he had indeed been chosen – or rather, one might consider it such, if one didn’t know any better.
But Jiao Ziyu knew better – much, much better. The previous Peak Lord Jiao had not chosen him for any fighting prowess, and neither had he kept him around for such. This wasn’t to say that Jiao Ziyu was weak though, not exactly. Granted, it wasn’t to say that he was very strong either, compared to certain other individuals.
There was another though – similar to him, yet undeniably different – and as Jiao Ziyu dismounted from his sword, he immediately paid his respects. “This humble one greets Sect Leader.”
“Peak Lord Jiao,” the Sect Leader said, inclining his head ever so slightly. “Are you well?”
Well, Jiao Ziyu was as well as he could be, honestly. “This humble one is grateful for Sect Leader’s concern, although there is no reason for⸺”
“Speak plainly.”
It was just the two of them, and soon, they were inside the Sect Leader’s office, warded against anyone listening in, and Jiao Ziyu offered up a bland smile as he hid his hands up his sleeves, waiting for the other to address him.
The latter only seemed reasonable after all. Because the Sect Leader had not only summoned him but actually sent Peak Lord Cheng to get him, which definitely indicated a certain degree of urgency.
But what was it, and how it could possibly warrant pulling Jiao Ziyu out of his scheduled activities? Was it the recent unrest in the Borderlands? Was it the rumours about a recent power shift in the Demon Realm? Or was it possibly⸺?
“It’s Peak Lord Bai,” the Sect Leader said, immediately sending any thoughts about highly unauthorised illustrations flying.
“Did something happen to Mingyue?” Jiao Ziyu asked, too rattled to use proper titles, and at the Sect Leader’s prompt nod, his heart immediately sank. “How is he? Is he okay?”
“Recuperating,” the other said, hiding his own hands up his sleeves now that Jiao Ziyu had moved his. “He suffered another bout of qi deviation recently, and has been displaying some unusual behaviour.”
Mouth suddenly gone dry, Jiao Ziyu swallowed. Because he remembered the last one quite vividly. Still, unusual behaviour? “What sort of unusual behaviour?”
In that moment, Jiao Ziyu wished that he had taken the time to return briefly to consult his disciples on recent developments, and to scold them for not keeping him informed. However, there had been no time, and thus, Jiao Ziyu had no choice but rely on the Sect Leader for intel.
“What sort of unusual behaviour?” the Sect Leader sighed. “He expelled all of his disciples.”
Oh. “Why?”
“Allegedly for failing to meet his standards.”
Ah. Well⸺ “He does have fairly high standards though.”
And that was an understatement; Peak Lord Bai was a cold-hearted perfectionist. However, he was also the only Peak Lord that Jiao Ziyu considered a true friend. The feeling wasn’t necessarily mutual though.
“The Windward Sect takes pride in having high standards,” said the Sect Leader, visibly frustrated. “It does, and Peak Lord Bai is a medicinal cultivator of the highest degree. However⸺”
He trailed off, leaving Jiao Ziyu to fill in the blanks.
“You believe he suffered another flareup,” Jiao Ziyu said.
“I know he did,” the Sect Leader said. “I dealt with it personally.”
Ah. “Then why am I here?”
At this, there was an outright snort. Then, the Sect Leader said: “Peak Lord Jiao, may I be frank with you?”
Jiao Ziyu would rather the other be frank with him at all times, but⸺ “You most certainly may, Sect Leader.”
At this, the other let out yet another sigh, then reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, as if this whole situation was causing him a significant headache – which it most likely was, all things considered.
“This can’t go on,” he then said, mouth set into a thin line. “We’ve temporarily housed his former disciples in the outer sect, but that’s not a permanent solution – or a very good one. Normally, I would’ve let this issue slide for a while yet, but now, now I must consider the future of the Windward Sect. Had they been regular commoners without powerful backers, then that would’ve been one thing, but... well, they’ve already been offended, and I don’t really see Mingyue taking them back now. I’d say he’d sooner drop-kick them into the Abyss.”
Now was hardly the time to laugh, and yet, Jiao Ziyu couldn’t help but snicker – because that did indeed sound like a very Mingyue thing to do. He quickly shut his mouth though, putting on a more appropriate expression as he said: “Sect Leader shows great insight into the matter.”
The Sect Leader meanwhile just shook his head, then reached out to grasp Jiao Ziyu firmly by the shoulder – which frankly startled him, because the Sect Leader wasn’t particularly known to be a very tactile person. In fact, Sect Leader Yeguang rather liked to keep people at something of an arm’s length, and thus, Jiao Ziyu was quite surprised when the man promptly leaned in, regarding him with the sort of gaze that sent immediate chills down his spine.
“Go talk some sense into your friend,” the Sect Leader said. “Failing that, I expect you to leave and to find a replacement.”
A replacement? “A replacement for... whom?”
For a brief moment, Jiao Ziyu wondered if he wouldn’t end up being the one getting drop-kicked into the Abyss, especially so when the Sect Leader smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
“For the disciples, of course,” Sect Leader Yeguang said, pulling back. “With six disciples gone, we obviously have to start from somewhere.”
Huh. “...And you suppose that Ming⸺that Peak Lord Bai would just quietly accept any disciple I bring back? I rather doubt that.”
And indeed, Jiao Ziyu rather doubted that, because making Bai Mingyue do anything that the man himself actively opposed was a fool’s errand. Then again⸺
“I have faith in your abilities, Peak Lord Jiao.”
“Little Ziyu, I have great faith in you.”
With a sigh, Jiao Ziyu scratched the back of his neck. “I’ll put in my best effort.”
“I’ll put in my best effort,” he’d said.
“I’ll do my best,” he’d promised, more or less.
However, fact remained that there was a big difference in-between putting in one’s best efforts and one actually succeeding – they were two entirely different things, as a matter of fact. One did not necessarily guarantee the other, and Jiao Ziyu was well aware of that and very much so as he steered his steps towards Peak Lord Bai’s peak.
Each Peak Lord had some area of responsibility and expertise, and Peak Lord Bai’s was healing and medicine – and while he was quite skilled in both, he... had something of a temperament, mildly put.
Jiao Ziyu meanwhile was officially in charge of trade and logistics. Unofficially however, he also had other duties, duties which required him to spend a significant amount of time away from the Green Jade Peaks – and sure, Jiao Ziyu may also have been staying away for other reasons, but that was his own business, honestly.
Thinking this and then steeling himself against his upcoming trial, Jiao Ziyu steered his steps towards Peak Lord Bai’s private residence, which was by no means unfamiliar to him, although it had certainly been a while since he had last come here.
Nothing much seemed to have changed though – it was emptier, sure. However, even before this, no disciples had been allowed to enter Peak Lord Bai’s private residence as they pleased. Because much like his predecessor, Peak Lord Bai was a rather private individual, and if he was not left alone, then he would make it so.
Thinking back, the last time Jiao Ziyu had come here, Bai Mingyue had proven even colder than usual. Sure, the other Peak Lord had provided him with alcohol, but⸺
Well, as things were, Jiao Ziyu couldn’t know for sure if he would be allowed to enter. He certainly hoped so, but knowing Mingyue’s temper, there was honestly no telling.
Mingyue suddenly dismissing all six of his disciples right off the bat definitely pointed to him experiencing some bout of moodiness, and likely not one purely derived from the poison wreaking havoc in his veins.
Still, it would likely be fine, even if Jiao Ziyu couldn’t get in. Because he could still attempt to shout his questions through the closed door if it all came to that.
Granted, there were wards to block noise – but those were typically for the sake of containing sounds produced within and not for blocking those coming in from the outside. In any case⸺ “Mingyue? Are you there?”
The question was rather redundant. Still, it was polite to ask. Receiving no immediate response however⸺ “Mingming, are you there?”
This act of blatant provocation produced immediate results in the form of the sliding doors being thrown open.
Finding himself levelled with a definite glare, Jiao Ziyu put on a disarming smile and opened his mouth to speak. He didn’t have the time to say anything before he was grabbed and dragged inside though.
“That guy sent you,” Mingyue spat.
“That guy sent me,” Jiao Ziyu quickly confirmed. Because lying about that sort of thing would’ve been unbecoming, even for him. Besides, lying to Mingyue was something best avoided, in Jiao Ziyu’s personal experience.
“I’m not taking them back,” Mingyue hissed, clearly referring to his – now former – disciples.
“Understandable,” Jiao Ziyu said, because⸺ “Their medicinal skills were not up to par and their temperaments were unsuitable, right?”
Jiao Ziyu merely hazarded a guess, but he didn’t believe that he was wrong. Because while he might not have been spending an awful lot of time at the Green Jade Peaks as of late, he had seen and heard enough of these disciples to make that tentative assessment. And in Jiao Ziyu’s humble opinion, Bai Mingyue should’ve never agreed to take them in the first place – no matter what the other Peak Lords had to say about the issue. There had been definite pressure though, and the prestigious bloodline of some of them had exercised a fair bit of pressure on the Sect Leader, who had in turn talked Mingyue into it. The man was most likely regretting it now though.
“So,” Jiao Ziyu said, hiding his hands up his sleeves while idly surveying the room, taking note of the scrolls scattered on the floor; copies of the Windward Sect’s admittance records from the looks of it. “What now? You didn’t pick any new disciples at the latest round of the Selection, and you’ve dismissed the rest. What now?”
You won’t live forever, Jiao Ziyu privately thought. You need to secure your legacy.
This was one of their duties as Peak Lords – securing the continuation of the lineage. Granted, some of them didn’t really have a problem in that regard, because whether they died or ascended, they would have at least two or three potential successors. Even Jiao Ziyu had two of them, despite being relatively young by Peak Lord standards. Of course, standing next to certain other Peak Lords like Elder Lin, Elder Wen and Elder Huang, anyone looked young.
Bai Mingyue certainly did, and at Jiao Ziyu’s words, the other looked decidedly offended. This didn’t change the fact that Jiao Ziyu was right though.
“I won’t take them back,” Mingyue scoffed, arms folded across his chest. “I’d sooner toss them into the Abyss.”
Hah. “I don’t imagine that’d go over all too well with the rest of the Sect.”
It wouldn’t. It definitely wouldn’t. Still, how was Jiao Ziyu supposed to get Mingyue to change his mind? Actually no, that was impossible, and the real question was: How was Jiao Ziyu supposed to get Mingyue to⸺
Well, honestly, that was a problem for later. Because Jiao Ziyu would obviously have to find a potential disciple first and then try to get Mingyue’s approval – the keyword being try, because such an attempt was – while not guaranteed to fail – still pretty likely backfire, so⸺
He sighed, his heart feeling unusually heavy in his chest – he wasn’t the one suffering though. He wasn’t the one plagued by the effects of the poison; poison stemming from the Wūtóu flower, the bane of no small number of cultivators.
“Is there really no other way?”
Jiao Ziyu hadn’t directed this question at anyone in particular; he’d simply voiced this thought out loud. Because it had definitely plagued him – it had certainly plagued him for as long as he had been aware of the problem at hand.
As such, he was undeniably surprised when there was an answer.
